Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy

   Oldest Known Cypress in East Baton Rouge Parish Identified

Although heavily urbanized, patches of East Baton Rouge  Parish contain remnants of Louisiana's natural heritage. This includes Bayou Fountain, included in the Atchafalaya Water Heritage Trail   --the likely nursing ground for the grand old cypress recently landmarked by the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy. According to the Bayou Fountain Historical Marker,

 "Bayou Fountain was once connected to the Mississippi River when springtime flooding flowed over the natural levees just below downtown Baton Rouge, entering the swamps to the east of the river."  Likely dating back to late 18th century, this Baton Rouge cypress  thrived in its early years , probably from the nutrients in the ebb and flow from this ancient Mississippi River distributary. Although the cypress is now located in the rear yard of a residence on Highland Rd in Baton Rouge, its long ago connection to Fountain Bayou likely helped germinate the fine old specimen seen in the photos below.

30 23.063N 91 08.879W (on private property)

Here is the data : Circumference: 13' 10",  radius 26.5"
Boring 7.75"  Rings counted: Approx 83

            83 rings/x = 7.75” bore / 26.5" radius
            x= 283 projected rings

Projected age: 230+ years, to account for likely faster growing rate during early years of growth (Boring did not include inner section of tree)

Boring from Highland Road cypress

It is quite possible that an older cypress than this Highland Road tree is hiding in plain site in East Baton Rouge Parish, and we'd like to hear about it

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Mural in  Rayville,  Richland Parish, near two LPCL landmarked cypress on Boeuf Bayou, Richland Parish (see 2019 Blog entry)

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350+ Year Old Cypress Identified on Tchefuncte River, St. Tammany Parish

The Tchefuncte River on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain is one of many designated Louisiana Scenic Streams through out the state that derive much of their scenic quality from the mature trees lining their banks. A splendid example has been identified on the shore of the Tchefuncte in Covington. The tree is located on private property on Camellia Drive, but is easily seen by boat on the Tchefuncte roughly across from Nose Park on the opposite shore. (see map below)

Harvey Stern of the LPCL takes a boring from the cypress

Here's how we arrived at the estimated age of this Tchefuncte River beauty:
Circumference: 16' 9"  Radius  32"
Boring: 5.25"  Rings Counted: Approx. 75
75 rings/x = 5.25"boring/ 32 inch radius
Projected rings: 457
Projected age 350+ years